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Develop a strong value proposition statement: Make every contact count

Guest post by: Debra Pearlman

Article Overview: To sell effectively, you must first estab­lish and demonstrate value. Only then should you begin delineating features and benefits of your product and/or service. Traditionally, sales and marketing prac­tices focused solely on their features and benefits. Organizations and their account executives heavily promoted attributes without first questioning and qualifying.

Develop a strong value proposition statement: Make every contact count

To sell effectively, you must first estab­lish and demonstrate value. Only then should you begin delineating features and benefits of your product and/or service. Traditionally, sales and marketing prac­tices focused solely on their features and benefits. Organizations and their account executives heavily promoted attributes without first questioning and qualifying.

Features and benefits are, and will con­tinue to be an important part of the selling process; they are the "bread and butter" of what sells. However, to succeed in today's challenging marketplace, organizations realize that their corporate sales philoso­phy requires a significant culture-chang­ing shift. Instead of focusing on and being satisfied with the sales closed today, they realize that planting the seeds for future sales is essential for long-term success. These future sales are greatly dependent on strong customer loyalty. To develop solid loyalty, sales professionals must be sure to develop effective customer rela­tionships. This is based upon more than just the product or service; it ties into effective communication. Your cus­tomers want to know that you understand their needs and how to custom tailor the features and benefits into a business solu­tion that targets their particular needs.

All too often both sales professionals, as well as small business owners wearing the hat of a sales professional, inundate the prospect with the features and benefits of their product and/or service before ask­ing qualifying questions. As a result, they come across as foolish, aggressive, unin­formed and unprofessional.

Customers insist on, and deserve, pro­fessionalism and expertise. Not only must your product work for them, they need to feel that you understand how it will specifically translate into business value for them. Understanding their needs and how your product or service fits will cre­ate a strong differentiation between you and your competition. To determine this and be able to provide convincing advice, you need to take the time to understand your prospective customer.

Providing solutions is key to selling a product or service. Business people today are more demanding. They can easily access information and educate them­selves. Sometimes, so much information about so many products and services is available; it takes a concerted effort to dif­ferentiate your product and service. Selling actually requires the added ele­ment of explaining how benefits and fea­tures provide solutions and meet your cus­tomers' needs. By asking carefully struc­tured questions and listening to the responses, you will are better able to explain exactly product or service will what value your service will provide.

To sell effectively, show the real value first, and then delineate the features and benefits. Talk about how your customers' needs will be met and how what you are offering is unique. Use value driven words to begin statements. Words such as increase, avoid, reduce, strengthen, and enhance. The words you use must capture the attention of your prospects and inspire them to take action. This should be underscored in all of your ongoing com­munications, whether face-to-face, by phone, letter, e-mail or voicemail.

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Article Tags: customer relations, sales and marketing



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Re: Review My: e-product sales letter - Hi Evan, I just had a quick look at your sales letter. I like the informative "editorial" style. I'm not too sure about the second point in the headline ("prove your critics wrong")... I think the headline may be trying to cover too many bases instead of hitting us with the strongest specific benefit... "How to..." is a good start. Another option is to ask a "Does a well written business plan really (do xyz)?" That will lead the reader into the editorial where you can then provide the evidence that it does - and that your product is the only one around to deliver such a plan... I noticed that the money back guarantee is only in the P.S. I think you need to put it right above the Paypal button, in a box, in bold type with a "guarantee seal". The P.S. will then reinforce it. If there is a strong statement from one of the testimonials, how about taking the statement and placing it above the headline? DH
Why not a Mission Statement AND a Mantra? - Is it possible to make a statement that incorporates the pros from both the mission statement and the mantra? If so, do you think it would it be more effective?
Mission & Vision Statements - Oops my bad. A mission statement is for employees as well. Author of "Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases", Fred R. David says "The mission statement answers the question 'What is our business,'" while "the vision statement answers the question 'What do we want to become?'" (60). Furthermore, "A good mission statement reveals an organization's customers; products or services; markets; technology; concern for survival, growth, profitability; philosophy; self-concept; concern for public image; and concern for employees" (73).
Dragon's Den - I'd be interested in hearing people's reaction to the CBC TV show "Dragon's Den." Personally, I feel the show is very corny(probably why its on the CBC), however it illustrates perfectly the importance of having a well defined elevator pitch with a killer pain statement and glorious value proposition. Those entrepreneaur wanabes who get the most interest(and ultimately a crap load of money) are those who impress the Dragons with a great EP. This being said, another trend I can see is that those who truly...TRULY...have a passion for what they do and can properly communicate this to the Dragons are also favoured. Furthermore, those who also show the Dragons that they have done alittle research (like knowing their names and the companies they founded) also have a better chance. These are all valuable lessons that can be learned if you strip back the cheesy veneer of the show. I'd be interested in hearing all of your thoughts and what you have learned from the show.
Re: What are your January Goals? - Well done David! My major goal for January was to get 3 new paying clients for my local marketing business. I ended up with 7 and a few more that are strong possibilities for the near future. So I would say it was a very successful month! Also, I earned more this month than I have in any other month since I started my online business almost 9 years ago (if you don't count large lump sums from a few sites I've sold in the past).


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